Amount of coolant?
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2002
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From: Dandridge TN
Amount of coolant?
I am getting ready to flush my coolant system and add the right mixture water/antifreeze. I was just wondering how much antifreeze should I buy and what is a good mixture. I have the stock rad. in my 350/350 69 vette. Also, is it a good idea to add water wetter to the mixture? I was told you can't use water wetter with antifreeze. :confused: Advice will be appreciated.
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From: Living in the Hartland
Re: Amount of coolant? (Steve Adkins)
You can use waterwetter with anti-freeze but the less anti freeze you use the better the waterwetter works. If I remember right, the bottle says for best results to use 2 bottle of ww and 15%/85% antifreeze/dist water mix. If you don't see freezing that mix should be fine. If you see freezing then increase the antifreeze %. Not sure about the total volume but seems to me about 4 gallons total, maybe a little more.
Melting Slicks
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From: Moon Township PA
Re: Amount of coolant? (Steve Adkins)
If you have the Chilton's, GM or Haynes manual it will state the amount of coolant in your system. The most common mistake most folks make is to say "Ok, my system holds 16 quarts so I will add 8 quarts of water and then 8 quarts of antifreeze." I would suggest that after a thorough flushing that you drain the radiator, hoses, and then the block by removing the two block drain plugs on either side of your block. They are located mid-block behind the engine mounts. Once the whole system is empty, close it back up and then take your system capacity and divide it by two. Let's assume that it is 16 quarts. Add 8 quarts of antifreeze FIRST then add distilled water to top it off. There is almost always some residual water in the system so you will therefore have the correct ratio.
Gary
Gary
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Re: Amount of coolant? (Steve Adkins)
It really depends on the winter temperatures you are going to experience in your location. In South Texas it rarely gets much below 30 degrees, but occassionally we will see it down in the 'teens. I run(this is a guesstimation) about 70-80% distilled water, 1 bottle of Water Wetter and the rest Prestone Antifreeze. I have never heard that you can't run Water Wetter with Antifreeze, I'm not saying that isn't true, but I've been running it for several years with no problems.
When radiator I usually buy 3 gallons of distilled water, pour in 2 of the gallons, then the water wetter then start the car and let it warm up. As it warms I add the Prestone to top off the radiator. Since my car did not come with an overflow tank (the top 4 inches of the radiator act as the expansion tank) I have to wait until the car is well warmed and the thermostat is fully open to check the level. Also make sure you turn on your heater to get coolant into the heater core.
In your location I imagine it gets colder than down here, so I'd suggest a little more antifreeze than I run.
When radiator I usually buy 3 gallons of distilled water, pour in 2 of the gallons, then the water wetter then start the car and let it warm up. As it warms I add the Prestone to top off the radiator. Since my car did not come with an overflow tank (the top 4 inches of the radiator act as the expansion tank) I have to wait until the car is well warmed and the thermostat is fully open to check the level. Also make sure you turn on your heater to get coolant into the heater core.
In your location I imagine it gets colder than down here, so I'd suggest a little more antifreeze than I run.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2002
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From: Dandridge TN
Re: Amount of coolant? (Fevre)
Fevre, Thanks. I live in a rather mild climate and do see some days where it is below freezing, but hopefully the vette will stay in the garage during those days! I will still have to protect it just in case, so I might want to go with a little more antifreeze.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2002
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From: Dandridge TN
Re: Amount of coolant? (Smokehouse69)
Thanks guys! I was in Auto Zone the other night and asked them if they carried WW and they said they didn't because it don't work and you can't run it with antifreeze. I said WTF, this is the first that I have heard of this non-sense. Those guys down there are a total bunch of know it all wanna be's!
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2001
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From: Living in the Hartland
Re: Amount of coolant? (Steve Adkins)
There is some debate as to 'if' it works but I think it should be more like 'how well' does it work. I don't think it is a cure-all for a poorly performing cooling systems but it seemed to drop my temp some.
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